The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo today, launched the Nations Builders Corps (NABCO) in Kumasi.
The program is expected to employ unemployed graduates from our tertiary institutions ‘to assist in the public service delivery needs of our country’.
‘Data from the renowned Institute Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) published in March 2017, revealed that only 10% of graduates find jobs after their first year of completing school and it takes up to 10 years for a large number of graduates to secure employment.’
The President also indicated that the World Bank’s report on jobs in Ghana ‘published in 2016 revealed that about 48% of the youth in the country that is those who are between the ages of 15 and 24 years do not have jobs.’
Nana Addo also further pointed out that the ‘situation has been made worst by the ban placed on public sector employment by the International Monetary Fund.’
‘I was alarmed late last year to learn that 250,000 young persons applied to be placed in the Youth Employment Agency’s internship module where the available spaces were only 5000 people.’
‘The Ghana revenue Authority also advertised for the various categories of staff. Some 59151 responded to the advertisement out of which 20177 met the requirement and the available vacancies were 350.’
‘Our ultimate goal as a government is to grow the economy rapidly so that together with the private sector we will absorb our teeming unemployed youth’, he added.
This policy according to the President is the new employment scheme he talked about in this year’s ‘Adwuma Pa’ budget.
‘NABCO’s central focus will be to create employment avenues and opportunities for young people who hold diplomas and degrees from accredited tertiary institutions.’
The program according to the President, ‘will be the vehicle to deliver 100,000 jobs in 7 prioritize areas defined as the following modules Educate Ghana, Heal Ghana, Feed Ghana, Revenue Ghana, Digitize Ghana, Enterprise Ghana and Civic Ghana.’
Information about the program as well as applications for the various areas will be received on the program’s website www.nabco.gov.gh.
The deadline for the program is on 1st June and by 1st July the select persons will become and first NABCO trainees and will be deployed to start work in August 2018.
Persons eligible for this program are those who have completed an accredited tertiary institution, completed his or her national service and is also a citizen of Ghana.
The event which took place at the KNUST’s Great Hall was also attended by the Vice President, Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Deputy Ministers of State, Traditional Rulers, Pro Vice Chancellor of the University, among other dignitaries.